Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Panic at 500ft: Unseen video shows tourists running for their lives as earthquake hits the Washington Monument


What do you do when an earthquake strikes and you're 500ft up at the top of an extremely narrow building? The answer is simple: run.
A video released on Monday by the National Park Service shows the panicked scenes at the top of the Washington Monument when the quake hit on August 23.
Three security camera videos taken 500 feet up show how the quake terrorised the tourists and shook pieces of the monument down from the very top of the structure.
Get outta here: Tourists scramble to reach the lower floors as the monument starts to shake wildly
Get outta here: Tourists scramble to reach the lower floors as the monument starts to shake wildly
After shocks: Debris and fallen masonry littered the monument when the shaking had ended
After shocks: Debris and fallen masonry littered the monument when the shaking had ended
Young families could be seen scooping up their children and running down the stairs.
The stairs are narrow, it was a single only.
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake was centered 84 miles south west of D.C. in the town of Mineral, Virginia.
But it did enough damage to close the Washington Monument to visitors for the foreseeable future while repair crews get to work, NBC Washington reports.
Mother Nature strikes: One of four big cracks opened up the quake. Days later, Hurricane Irene added to the tally
Mother Nature strikes: One of four big cracks opened up the quake. Days later, Hurricane Irene added to the tally

Crashing down: National Park Service spokesman shows examples of masonry that fell
Crashing down: National Park Service spokesman shows examples of masonry that fell
Four stones near the top of the 555-foot monument were cracked in the earthquake.
Days later, Hurricane Irene punished the monument further with strong winds and extremely heavy rain.
That produced some flooding inside and caused more cracks.
Terror at the top: Tourists can be seen in a National Parks Service video running down the stairs as the quake strikes
Terror at the top: Tourists can be seen in a National Parks Service video running down the stairs as the quake strikes
The video lasts one minute and 55 seconds and the shaking continues from start to finish.
It appears in the video that the National Park ranger sitting at the top suddenly bolted before the tourists.
But the agency clarified her actions.
It said she followed protocol by guiding visitors to the emergency exit door on the 490 level, which opens inward, and then returned to the 500 level to ensure that all visitors were out.

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